3km long pegmatite field: James Bay Minerals discovers a doozy at La Grande

JBY has identified over 20 pegmatite dykes along a 3km corridor at Aero
Aero is part of the broader La Grande project in the prospective James Bay region of Canada
The pegmatites display fractionation indicators associated with lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites like the nearby Cancet and Corvette projects
The company’s field program will continue until first snow fall arrives

Freshly listed James Bay Minerals has identified over 20 pegmatite dykes along a 3km corridor at its Aero property, part of the La Grande project, in the prolific James Bay lithium region of Canada.

The company’s 224km² La Grande portfolio is one of the biggest in the sought-after province.

Its Aero property is along trend from Winsome Resources’ (ASX:WR1) Cancet lithium project and Patriot Battery Metals’ (ASX:PMT) world-class Corvette deposit, where a maiden resource estimate of 109.2Mt at 1.42% Li₂O and 160ppm Ta₂O₅ was recently reported.

Aero has ~12km of deformation zones which occur when sections of ground or rock structures change their shape and/or dimensions.

Notably, the nearby Cancet and Corvette properties both have deformation zones running through their properties and both companies have had significant exploration success along these zones.

The pegmatite dykes identified also display fractionation indicators and accessory minerals associated with Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatites.

This is promising. Most pegmatite lithium deposits are usually associated with high ‘fractionation’ – i.e. the ancient geological process in which the crystals are separated from magma.

3km long pegmatite corridor

James Bay Minerals (ASX:JBY) recently commenced its maiden field exploration campaign, with a large continuous pegmatite outcrop – called Avro – identified in the first week.

The explorer has now flagged over 20 additional pegmatites to the west and east.

This pegmatite field now covers a corridor ~3km long and ~350m wide.

“The team’s continued rapid pace of discovery at our Aero property has been fantastic,” JBY executive director Andrew Dornan said.

“We are three weeks into our maiden exploration program and have already uncovered a field of fractionated pegmatites over a corridor of roughly 3,000m by 350m.

“The field team has done an exceptional job and we look forward to the continued success over the coming weeks.”

Continued observations of tourmaline – a common accessory mineral in rare-metal pegmatites – is being used as an indicator for fractionation and vectoring, with the current interpretation being that it is a fractionated pegmatite derived from a nearby fertile granite.

Field work ongoing

Systematic grab sampling, rock sawing and channel sampling continues across the property with a focus on the south-eastern end where a 4-season gravel road runs through.

An important field observation of the pegmatite dykes discovered to date is that they all plunge under cover, trending to the north within the Aero property.

Field work is continuing to focus throughout this part of the property considering the discovery of the pegmatite field, road access and general ease of accessibility due to recent fires clearing ground cover and making outcrops easily visible.

The field program will continue until first snow fall arrives, which is expected mid-October 2023.

This article was developed in collaboration with James Bay Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.